No rift in party over Modi: Rajnath

New Delhi, Sept 12, 2013, (PTI) :

Amid hectic efforts to convince L K Advani to give up his opposition to Narendra Modi as Prime Ministerial candidate, BJP president Rajnath Singh today said there was no rift in the party over the issue.

"There is no problem...I want to say," Singh said here when asked whether there is any hitch in declaring Modi as BJP Prime Ministerial candidate.

Singh had a 30-minute meeting with Advani yesterday to persuade him on Modi's candidature but failed to get an assurance, sources said.

Asked when the parliamentary party meeting will take place, Singh said, "It will be conveyed to you. It will be announced."

When asked repeatedly whether there is any unhappiness in the party over Modi issue, he said, "No one is unhappy in the party."

"A decision on the issue will be taken by the Parliamentary Board with as much consensus as possible," BJP spokesperson Sudanshu Trivedi has said yesterday in reply to a question on whether all members are on board on Modi.

Nitin Gadkari had met Advani on Tuesday as an emissary of the RSS for the same purpose but reportedly went back empty-handed.

There are reports that RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat may meet Modi in Gandhinagar today to discuss this issue. RSS has categorically said there is no dispute over Modi's name but the timing of the announcement has to be decided by the BJP.

Other than Advani, Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and Murli Manohar Joshi are also opposed to announcing Modi as the PM candidate before the forthcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Terming the communal violence in Muzafarnagar as "unfortunate", the BJP president said, "Timely action by the UP government could have averted it."

"There should be a probe into it and those found responsible for the violence should be punlished," he said.

Attacking the SP government, he said, "The SP-led government should not continue in power in the state."